The editors at NCR, like Bourgeois, insist that the ordination of women is simply a matter of justice. Justice means giving one his (or her) due. If a male-only priesthood is an injustice to women, then there must be some good in ordination that is due to women. But the sacrament of holy orders, as NCR forthrightly admits, is a gift. A vocation to the priesthood is either a gratuitous gift or a right. It can’t be both.

I think it is always helpful to ponder the significance of the impact that our loved ones have had on our lives. We think so little of it while they are alive and must do justice to that in our remembrances. May God give you help during your time of grief.